Research Stay at The Cyprus Institute Advances Sustainable Desalination Research. SOLARIZE Mobilities Programme

Researcher Lukas Wille, from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) has successfully completed a research stay at The Cyprus Institute in Nicosia, collaborating closely with Dr. Ayoub Bouazza and Dr. Marios Georgiou on the application of membrane distillation for water desalination.

During the research stay, the team established and experimentally tested the first stage of a broader desalination concept. The experimental work demonstrated promising results in the separation of fresh water from saline water using membrane distillation, providing an important proof of concept for the technology.

This work provides an important foundation for the next development steps, which aim to integrate a crystallizer for salt recovery as part of a Zero Liquid Discharge approach. In the future, the process could also make use of waste heat from The Cyprus Institute’s PROTEAS Concentrated Solar Power facility to supply the thermal low grade energy required for desalination.

The research stay offered an exciting opportunity to gain deeper insights into desalination technologies, contribute existing expertise, and exchange knowledge with researchers from different scientific backgrounds. The mobility also led to a follow-up exchange with another research group working on building-related topics closely connected to the activities of Lukas’ research group in Germany, opening up further opportunities for future collaboration.

The promising experimental results and the valuable scientific exchange once again highlight the importance of international research mobility in advancing sustainable water and energy solutions.

The outcomes of this research stay demonstrate the value of the SOLARIZE Mobility Programme in fostering scientific excellence and international collaboration. By enabling researchers to work alongside leading experts, access complementary research infrastructures, and exchange knowledge across disciplines and institutions, the programme accelerates innovation and strengthens long-term research partnerships. These mobility opportunities play a key role in advancing sustainable solutions to global challenges, while creating lasting networks that continue to generate new collaborative research beyond the duration of each individual visit.

For more information about the SOLARIZE Mobility Programme, visit the programme webpage.